A few days ago, I had planned on making waffles for dinner. All set, I plugged in the waffle iron… and kaput. In a quest for a new waffle iron, a coworker suggested the Williams Sonoma one, saying he loved his. On an impulse, I drove over and got myself a shiny new All-Clad $200 Belgian Waffle Iron (the 4 square one). Epic self-control fail.

So now I’m doing waffle science. I must determine the following: a. best batter for waffles b. what else I can make in a waffle iron c. if it’s worth $200 d. if I really want a Belgian waffle iron versus a ‘normal‘ waffle iron.

To date, I’ve made the Belgian Waffle recipe that comes in the little WS booklet, and another — Waffles of Insane Greatness. The latter wins… by a lot, surprisingly.

Recipe!

Waffles of Insane Greatness
originally adapted from Aretha Frankensteins, then adapted from the link above

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes, if you have the time.

With my waffle maker, I cook them for 4 minutes at heat setting ’3.’

Yay waffles! They tasted great, crunchy on the outside, light and chewy on the inside. They also made great dog hats.

…I mostly followed the recipe. I did a little less sugar, no nuts and added pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice. Think carrot cake, but with beets. For the frosting, I did a standard cream cheese frosting (creamcheese + lots of confectioner’s sugar) and added beet juice for coloring.

It tasted like any other root veggie-cake (carrot cake, parsnip cake etc). Next time I’m going to try using canned beets (much easier) or slow roasting them in the oven first (until they caramelize and develop that rich caramelized beet flavor). I will also try to take a picture before I’m so tired that everything is blurry.